Birthday Celebrations — September 8

Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on September 8 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history.

Buck Leonard

Full name: Walter Fenner Leonard

Born September 8, 1907 — died November 27, 1997

Negro Leagues Hall of Fame first baseman.

Called "the Black Lou Gehrig," Leonard paired with Josh Gibson to power the Homestead Grays to nine straight pennants, entering Cooperstown in 1972.

Ruby Bridges

Full name: Ruby Nell Bridges

Born September 8, 1954

School-integration pioneer, author, and activist.

At six, escorted by federal marshals through screaming mobs, Bridges integrated New Orleans’ William Frantz Elementary — the walk immortalized in Norman Rockwell’s The Problem We All Live With.

Latrell Sprewell

Full name: Latrell Fontaine Sprewell

Born September 8, 1970

Four-time NBA All-Star.

Sprewell’s slashing brilliance carried the 1999 Knicks to the NBA Finals in one of basketball’s most vivid stories of talent and reinvention.

Larenz Tate

Full name: Larenz Marcus Tate

Born September 8, 1975

Actor and producer.

From the chilling O-Dog in Menace II Society to the poet Darius in Love Jones to Power, Tate has stayed at the heart of Black film and television.

Slim Thug

Full name: Stayve Jerome Thomas

Born September 8, 1980

Houston rapper.

His towering verse on "Still Tippin’" helped launch Houston’s national takeover, and Already Platinum debuted at No. 2.

Wiz Khalifa

Birth name: Cameron Jibril Thomaz

Born September 8, 1987

Rapper, singer, and entrepreneur.

From "Black and Yellow" to "See You Again" — one of the most-streamed songs in history — Wiz built a blueprint for independent-minded rap stardom.